The church of God is called to proclaim the gospel of grace and salvation throughout the world. People often reference the New Testament with this, for example the so called “great commission” in Matthew 28:19. Less well-known is the fact that already in the Old Testament it is mentioned that the salvation that God gives, is not only for God’s own people Israel, but that also foreigners, other nations and peoples may share in it.

Starting out from a text in the Old Testament, I want to show something of the breadth of God’s salvation in the Old Testament.

It does not immediately catch your eye, but it does say it. When the people of Israel, packed and bagged for the journey, finally may depart from Egypt, a large group of various tribes and nations goes along with them on the way to the Promised Land. Who were these people?

Why did they come along? What does it mean for the exodus that these people were allowed to come along? And what does that say about God and about the salvation that he wants to give to people?

People from Various Tribes and Nations⤒🔗

Who were these people? The Hebrew word that is used here, always denotes people who do not belong to the original population of a country. In today’s world you would call them the immigrants, or foreigners (see Jer. 25:20, 50:37 and Ezek. 30:5). Here in Exodus 12, it is therefore about the people who do not descend from the tribes of Israel.

But who were these people then? Several possibilities have been suggested. One thought is that they could have been the children from mixed marriages between Egyptians and Israelites. Such marriages obviously had happened (as described in Lev. 24:10), and the Hebrew word used here goes back to a verb which means “to mix”. Therefore: people with a mixed background. And they for sure must have been included in this multitude, but it does not seem plausible that all of them were so mixed and half Israelite. You can also ask yourself here if the children from mixed marriages can be labeled as being “from various tribes and nations” or even “a non-Israelite”.

Another possibility is that the multitude may have included Egyptians. Egyptians who had become impressed, seeing God’s power and Israel’s faith. After experiencing the ten plagues they had decided to go along with Israel and their God, and to leave Egypt and their gods behind. From texts such as Exodus 9:20 and 11:3 you can deduce after all that there were Egyptians who had gained a great respect for Moses and for God.

John Calvin soberly pointed out that you also must consider that in Egypt everything was destroyed due to the plagues with which God had punished the land. You can just imagine that there were Egyptians who therefore had decided to go along with the Israelites, to carve out a new existence elsewhere.

Many of these “people of various tribes and nations” may have been slaves. The people of Israel were not the only slaves in Egypt at that time, and the Egyptians brought in slaves from everywhere. Slaves in Egypt were indeed from “various tribes and nations”. When their Israelite fellow slaves obtained their freedom, they also got the opportunity to join them toward freedom.

The fact is and remains that it does not say exactly who these people were. All the suggestions mentioned above are possible: children from mixed marriages, Egyptians, slaves from different nationalities (see Num. 12:1 where it mentions that Moses married a Cushite woman).

In short: people from various backgrounds. And they were not just a few, that is also clear. And the last fact: they joined in the exodus. And that is what matters at this point.

Further On in the Desert Journey←⤒🔗

Another question is: do we meet these “people from various tribes and nations” further in the desert journey again, or is this “mixed multitude” only mentioned in Exodus 12:38? I did mention Leviticus 24:10 already, which is about a man who has an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father. This man cursed God and therefore had to be punished. Moses is instructed to tell the people: “Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.” The “sojourners” who joined in the beginning are evidently still with the Israelites, otherwise this instruction from God would make no sense.

Another text is Numbers 11:4. Numbers 11 starts out by chronicling that the people of Israel are complaining again about the lack of food and drink and the monotony of their existence. In Taberah, the fire of the LORD’s anger burned among them.

But then it says in Numbers 11:4, that “the rabble that was among them had a strong craving”. They start to complain (about Egyptian delicacies) again and all of Israel joins them in their weeping. This text as well makes it plain that the non-Israelites who joined the exodus, stayed with them for the whole journey and experienced everything along the way.

In the end this is underlined in Deuteronomy 29:10-15. The desert journey is over, and the people are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. At that point Moses says to them: “You are standing today, all of you, before the LORD your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the LORD our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.”

The Breadth of God’s Salvation←⤒🔗

But how are you to interpret the presence of these sojourners of varied backgrounds in the exodus and in the desert journey? I noticed that many exegetics are negative about the presence of these people and especially their influence on the Israelites. Luther for example spoke of “the mob”.

Often a connection is made with the text of Numbers 11:4 already mentioned above. The mishmash of foreigners induced the people of Israel to weep and complain. That is what happens when you allow non-Israelites to come along, then often becomes the reasoning.

In the Brief Explanation (of Scripture) the connection is made with Ezekiel 20:6-11, where Ezekiel in the name of God blames the Israelites that they never did cast away the detestable things from Egypt. It is not said in so many words, but the suggestion is clear: the sojourners who travelled along have induced the Israelites to remain faithful to the Egyptian idols.

Now, no one will deny the connection between the “mixed multitude” in Exodus 12:38 and “the rabble that was among them” in Numbers 11:4. But you cannot just include the “=” sign making them the same. The terms used are different after all. You could conclude, based on Numbers 11:4, that among the people from various tribes and nations there were those who had dubious motives: they thought that the God of Israel would assure them of having a filled table, which proved to be quite the miscalculation. But one cannot conclude from Numbers 4:11 whether that applied to all sojourners. There will have been some “rabble” among them; that is as far as you can take this.

And by the way: from whom did they learn to complain? During their journey in the desert is it not the Israelites themselves who try God’s patience with their complaints about the lack of food and drink? Therefore, it is not right to suggest that the mixed multitude induced the Israelites to sin. The facts also point the other way: the rabble of sojourners who was among them copied the behaviour of the Israelites.

But how do you interpret then that these people went along? The Bible text I am thinking about is Genesis 12:1-3. God promises to Abraham that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” and that Abraham will be a blessing for others.

At the beginning of the exodus, you see a shimmer of this: people from various tribes and nations — non-Israelites! — may share in the freedom to which God leads his people.

In short: God’s salvation is inclusive!

The Sojourner in Israel←⤒🔗

This correlates with the position that these, but also other, sojourners could assume under Israel. To begin with: how was it with these added sojourners, did they truly belong to the people of Israel or were they tolerated? For the answer to that question, I want to start at Exodus 12:43-49 — a few verses after Exodus 12:38. In Exodus 12:43-49 it is about the strangers at the celebration of Passover. It seems obvious to think of these strangers as (being) the “mixed multitude” that is mentioned just prior to this passage (in verse 38).

In Exodus 12:43-49 the stranger is allowed to partake of the Passover, on the condition that he and all his family let themselves be circumcised. This is how they entered the covenant that God had made with Israel, and now the same rights and obligations applied to them as to the born Israelite.

In Numbers 9:14 this is explicitly stated regarding the celebration of Passover: ^“You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native”, whether it concerns bringing an offering (Num. 15:14-16), or the eating of blood (Lev. 17:12), or adhering to the purification laws (Lev. 17:15), or enjoying the Sabbath rest that God commanded (Deut. 5:14), and also the punishment given for blaspheming the name of the LORD (Lev. 24:16).

In short: “You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.” (Num. 15:15b-16).

Now these sojourners did not particularly take on the prominent positions (in Israel). They were the people who were “chopping wood and drawing water” (Deut. 29:11). Together with the widows and the orphans they often belonged to the vulnerable groups in society (Deut. 24:17-21). Their position will often have been a humble one. But all of this does not take away that their place in the covenant with God was not second-rate. They could fully partake and enjoy all the blessings which the LORD God bestowed upon his people.

Only during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah is the difference between the Israelite and the sojourner more clearly defined. The Israelites are not allowed to marry foreign women (Ezra 9 and 10, Neh. 13:23-25). But this measure one ought to place in the light of that time: the preservation of Israel hangs on a thread. Ezra’s measures are best to be taken as a “crisis measure”.

To Share in Abraham’s Blessing←⤒🔗

In the whole of the Old Testament, we do not see much that is unexpected in this regard.

From the beginning it is made possible that others beside the Israelites themselves can partake in the salvation that God wants to give them. You could say: being able to share in the blessings which were promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3).

When Abraham is instructed to circumcise his family, then also his slaves are being included in this; those who do not belong to his own offspring (Gen. 17:12-13).

Also, further in the Old Testament one sees regularly that the God of Israel is not an exclusive God, who excludes other nations beside Israel. At the dedication of the temple, Salomon prays that “when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake…, when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you” (1 Kings 8:41-43).

In the Psalms, all nations on earth are regularly invited to participate in praising God’s name (e.g., Ps. 67, Ps. 100, and Ps. 87).

And the prophets in Israel never focus solely on Israel, but want to address the whole world, in judgment (e.g., the nations’ prophesies), but also in the promises for the future (e.g., Isa. 2:1-5). Whoever wants to close ranks with this God, will be saved, also a sojourner or a eunuch (Isa. 56:3).

But how are things then with God’s command for Israel not to join with the native peoples of Canaan? Indeed, God certainly warns against that, but the reason is that Israel’s children are in this manner being tempted to say farewell to God and embrace the heathen gods instead (see Deut. 7:3-4). God takes this very seriously! But that does not mean that these heathens could not be brought to begin to serve God. In Deuteronomy 4:6-7 Moses calls the people of Israel in so many words to show to the rest of the world how great and near God is and how just his laws and regulations are.

Exodus 12:38 (“a mixed multitude also went up with them”) is completely congruent with the rest of the Old Testament. The salvation that God wants to give does not have an exclusive character, something only for Israel. Others may also share in this salvation. God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 does not just start with the coming of Jesus Christ on earth. Sure, what God meant then becomes visible, visible in full, but also before that time already others beside the Israelites were permitted to share in the salvation God rendered.

We Have Heard that God is With You←⤒🔗

Of course, since Pentecost something has changed. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the breadth of God’s salvation breaks through in full. Thanks to Jesus Christ, the wall (of hostility) which separated Israel and the nations, is then really broken down (Eph. 2:14).

While in the time of the Old Testament, sojourners could — so to speak — trickle into the covenant with God, after Pentecost nations and peoples “from various tribes and nations” may all share in the blessings promised to Abraham. But whoever listens well to the Old Testament, discovers that already in the Old Testament, God’s intentions with the nations around Israel and the generous offer of his salvation become quite clear. Despite various limitations, also in the time of the Old Testament, the entrance to the salvation is open for people of various origins.

In our time, within the congregation, people speak more and more about the missionary task and calling of the Christian church. In my experience, such conversation can quickly get bogged down in feelings of nervousness. Nervousness with part of the congregation, as now things “must” be done differently. Nervousness by another part of the congregation because a missionary focus is being associated with various — especially by them unwanted — changes.

That is a pity.

The Bible itself seems to deal in a much more relaxed way with these missionary questions.

In the entirety of Scripture, it is quite normal that also others beside God’s own people gain access to the salvation of God. It is also abundantly clear that this does not mean anywhere that concessions are to be made in the message that is to be proclaimed.

Especially from the Old Testament one can learn that the message of God the gracious King is to be proclaimed in all its clarity, in the trust that there will be people who feel spoken to and with whom God will walk. This relaxed understanding may sound everywhere, in conversations about evangelization, and also in the sermon, which after all is not a Bible study only for insiders, but God’s offer of grace to lost sinners, be they in or outside of the church.

In this manner, we can work and live in the congregation in the breadth of God’s salvation, from the promise of blessing which God wants to dispense to his church.

The prophet Zechariah worded this promise toward the end of the Old Testament as follows:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zech. 8:23).